Shadow Eyes
by Bugnuks And Crossbows
Summary: Black and White, opposite sides of the scale. And still, young hearts are willing to accept one another... They just have to hit a couple brick walls first.
1. Chapter 1

_Er hi... I'm Amy. I felt the need to introduce myself to people who read this stuff because my normal area is the K/O section. I have to admit, I don't often write Nagi at all, but as of recently I've joined a Weiß Online Blog and I figure writing a story with him somewhere in the center would be a good way to get used to him._

_PS-I'm Canadian, so my spelling may be different from the spelling of those of you who are American. And PPS- I like milk. You'll understand by the end of the prologue the point of this comment._

* * *

I hate new schools. No... I really hate new schools. I was tutored before, Estet arranged for that but as of recently Schwarz decided I was being anti-social and got permission to send me to school. Why you ask? I couldn't tell you. However... This time a new school turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me. 

As I stood on the pavement in the front I couldn't help but feel out of place. The school was Hokusei High, a prestigious enough public school but really nothing fancy. The classrooms were small and the halls had a tendancy for being messy. I was disgusted by it as I made my way down the less than immaculate hallway on my way to the office.

I couldn't help it. The truth is that I can't stand unclean places, you can't find anything, you can't lay on the floor and know that you're not laying in a pile of germs. I'm very anal about clean things; why do you think I dislike Schuldig so much? He never cleans anything.

When I approached the office, a large room with glass windows overlooking the cafeteria, I thought I had seen something that could have been dangerous; A flash of honey blonde hair and particularily familiar blue eyes. However the sight was gone as soon as it had appeared, leaving me to blink thoughtfully.

Bombay didn't attend school, did he? Hadn't he graduated already? Confusion filtered through my head as I stepped into the office and approached the desk. The woman there was obviously foreign- I speak from experience on this one. By the strangely coloured hair and the beautiful bronze of her skin I knew that she was no Japanese woman.

"Can I help you?" her thick Australian accent cut into my thoughts, like a bolt of lightening through a stormy sky.

"Yes... My name is Naoe Nagi, I just transfered here...? I'd like to collect my scheduel," I mumbled, turning my head away to look out the windows down onto the cafeteria.

"Naoe Nagi?" she parroted, then began looking through a drawer to one side of her desk which was full of large manila envelopes. I could see her reflection in the glass. "Here, there's homeroom first block, lucky for you, and you may be able to get help from some of your classmates if you're looking for a class."

According to my tutor from before I was going to be put into grade twelve, since he had been pushing me- He was quite the ass. Although I had missions to deal with he still piled homework on me like I had all the time in the world to do it and the only days I got a break from his constant nattering was when I did have a mission. I really disliked that man.

I glanced at the map of the school that was just outside the office to search for my homeroom, room one thousand and nine 'B'. The map, much to my dismay, displayed that my homeroom was on the exact opposite side of the school, downstairs. It was irony and I knew it. I had a foreboding feeling about the school from that point in time on.

As I walked, I studied the student body. My classmates; my enemies. These were the people I was competing against and they were the people I was trying to survive against. And, heavens help us, they were loud, annoying little people whose only goal in life was to be in the 'in crowd.' If any of them even had half a working braincell, I would give up milk forever.

Finally I reached the classroom, the first cell in which I would be imprisoned with those loathesome creatures that people liked to call 'Prep's. I stepped into the open door and approached the teacher's desk, ignoring the older kids staring at me. It didn't matter to me what they thought. I might have been younger than them, but that didn't make me any less intelligent.

The teacher himself was an older man with dark hair that was peppered with strands of white, whose face was wrinkled around the eyes and edges of his mouth. He looked friendly, and even smiled as I approached; I hated him and I hadn't even spoken with him yet.

"How may I help you?" he greeted, his voice a soft alto.

"My name is Naoe Nagi, I'm a new student to your class," I hadn't bothered to smile, nor to look around. I could hear the students whispering as the teacher blinked at me.

"You may be in the wrong classroom, Naoe-san, may I see your timetable?"

I couldn't help but glare then. "This is room one thousand and nine is it not?" I asked icily, not handing over the paper.

"It is... Perhaps you read it wrong and the room you were supposed to go to was one thousand nineteen?" he suggested.

"...I'm not an idiot. I know how to count." I shoved the timetable into his hand then, crossing my arms in an irritated manner, though I was careful to keep my face as emotionless as possible.

His eyes scanned the paper as the bell rang, then nodded. "Well, it seems this is the class you are in. Where did you transfer from?" He was trying to make idle conversation. It wouldn't work.

"I was tutored." I said shortly, then asked where I might sit, so as to leave no room for discussion.

The teacher had directed me to a seat in the corner of the room near the windows and I happily took my place, slinging my bag from my shoulder and setting it beside me. Students continued to whisper, even as the second bell rang, indicating that class should start. Finally a girl approached me.

Her eyes were chocolate brown, though lighter in shade than my own, and her clothes were pristine and immaculate. She held an aire of importance, carrying herself like she was queen of the world, her long black hair swishing behind her like a cape.

"Hi new boy," she had greeted, perching lightly on my desk, flicking what little hair was over her shoulder back. I didn't respond, which seemed to irritate her, though she tried again. "My name is Tanamuri, Kisekosa Tanamuri. Friends call me Tana."

"That's nice," I informed her as I looked past her in disinterest. I had no time for fluttery, idiot girls; nor did I have need of them. It was true, I still hadn't gotten over Tot, but it didn't matter.

Tanamuri moved in a way that caused dark red highlights to appear in her hair and suddenly she was right in my face. "Look, if you want to be accepted in this school, you better learn how to deal with the crowd."

With a slightly annoyed tone I voiced the first question that came to mind. "Is that code for the airheads?"

The whole classroom 'Ohhhhh'ed at that one and I began to realize that my attempt to make myself invisible wasn't working. Tanamuri's eyes narrowed dangerously and she opened her mouth, all ashine with lip gloss, only to turn away as the classroom door opened. As the class turned their gaze to the door, some girls giggled lightly and began whispering amongst themselves.

I tried to see the door, to find out what disturbance had moved the classes attention away from me, however the girl was still sitting on my desk. Finally, as she began studying whatever it was at the door, I got fed up with her and shoved her off the desk.

The occurances in the next few minutes went by so slowly that it was difficult to tell how long it really was between one thing and another. As Tanamuri slid from the desk, she let out a small shriek before sprawling on the floor, but that wasn't where my attention was. The figure at the door was where my attention was.

Large, cerulean blue eyes had turned to seek out the source of the noise near my desk, cinnamon hair shifting softly around the boy's face. He never reached the point of finding the cause of the noise.

"Prodigy!" He hissed, living up to his name. I could almost see the black ears pinning to his head and the claws shifting in and out from their protective casings inside his claws; His hair even seemed to bristle slightly. It wasn't difficult to see that my presence had put him on guard.

My own reaction was somewhat different. My eyes had widened considerably as I saw Bombay and the word slipped from my mouth like melting ice. "Bombay..." I knew not to use my powers in this particular public area, but it was difficult not to with the threat that Bombay presented.

Even my nemesis struggled with that. His hand had slipped into his coat and I caught the faint metallic glint of a dart tip before he realized what he was doing. Fortunately, none of the students noticed the dart and it was away before anyone could have seen it.

"Tsukiyono-san, you're late," the teacher called, and Bombay was forced to redirect his attention to the teacher.

"Sorry sir..." he said softly, watching me warily from the corner of his eye.

With a soft sigh, the older man nodded. "But since you seem to know our new student... I will have to ask you to show him around. If I remember his timetable correctly you either attend the same classes as him today, or your classes are nearby," he informed us. Condemned us.

_T__oday can't get much worse, I_ thought and I could have sworn the same thought had run through the mind of the leader of Weiß. We were so screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

Although I sat in the middle of the room, my once comfortable spot became a place that caused me great aggrivation. Prodigy sat somewhere behind me and the only thing that kept me sane was the thought that he was smart enough not to start anything while in the school, amongst more than three thousand students.

The seconds ticked by all too quickly on the clock at the front of the class as I watched. It was safe to say I was terrified of the moment when the bell rang. Showing around _the_ Prodigy? An enemy who had caused me mass amounts of pain and grief? Ok, so it was mostly his teammates, but how could he be any different? They were all the same to me.

That seconds hand had to be moving at least twice the speed it was supposed to be, I frowned. Too soon, the bell would ring. _Far_ too soon. We never did anything in homeroom, it was just to collect things and something automatic every Friday, so there was nothing to distract my thoughts from Prodigy.

Nervously I cast a look over my shoulder to the well lit corner he was sitting in. He was sitting eerily still, almost as if he was tense as well. His whole body looked rigid. He was staring out the window, not in my direction at all, which made me feel a little better.

Suddenly a loud drone came from the speakers four times, signaling that class had ended and that I would need to be within arms reach of Prodigy. His dark eyes turned to me then and for a moment there was connection, a mutual feeling of dread that reverberated through us both.

I was still holding my bag from the beginning of class, so I stood now hesitantly approaching the younger and unquestionably more dangerous teen. One small, pale hand reached down to grab the dark blue and black bag that he was carrying before standing quietly.

With a sigh, I finally broke the tense silence between us. "What class do you have, in what room?"

He blinked at me, just once, then lowered his gaze to the paper in his other hand. "Science in room one one o' four."

I frowned thoughtfully at that, then nodded. "Well... Follow me then."

Not even waiting to see if he was following, I turned to the door. We had the same science class, too. I could have sworn he was younger than me, yet our classes were virtually in synch. How had that been arranged?

I heard the soft tapping of the soles of his shoes behind me, even over the talk around me in the hall. I had become adept at distinguishing sounds like that, filtering out what I didn't want to hear. Suddenly I stopped, causing Prodigy to bump into me-The hall was crowded, after all and if he didn't want to get lost, he needed to be close.

Was it possible that Schwarz had something planned? Maybe they had sent Prodigy here as a way to gain information about Weiß, or it could just be that they thought it would be the most efficient way to eliminate us. Get rid of me somewhere that my ability to defend myself was lower than usual, then slowly pick the others off one by one!

With a short glare in no particular direction, I grabbed Prodigy's wrist and hauled him to the nearest bathroom, then shoved him into a stall, locking it behind me.

"So, what's the plan, Prodigy? Who thought of this clever little scheme?" I bit out, glaring at the smaller boy.

Blinking back, he shook his head slowly. "If this is some sort of mission, Bombay, I don't know about it. Schwarz just decided it was time that I get some social interaction."

His eyes remained steadily on me and even an idiot could have seen the honesty that lay there in the depths of his eyes. "So help me, Prodigy, if this is a trick..." I muttered, leaving the threat open to consideration.

"I have no reason to want to get rid of you, Bombay," he reasoned softly. "I only obey orders I'm given and I haven't recieved any to do with Weiß."

Softly, I sighed and nodded. "...Lets go then."

We made our way back to the hallway, then entered the science class. As I continued to my usual seat, a stool and work table near the back of the class, I noticed that Prodigy continued to stand by the door to the class. A thought struck me, then. _Keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer._

"Prodigy," I called to him. His head turned and his eyes met mine. "You might as well sit here," I offered, gesturing to the stool beside myself. This was a little beyond my range of open-heartedness and even _I_ knew it, but I figured that at least if he was beside me I wouldn't have to worry about an attack from behind or anything.

He nodded shortly and took the seat beside me, though a little hesitantly. So my offer was a little transparent... At least he agreed to it.

"My name isn't 'Prodigy' you know," he mumbled a little as he leaned the bag against the side of the stool. "People will get curious if you continue to call me that."

I had to admit, he had a point. "Naoe-san, then."

"Better," he nodded pulling out a small blue binder.

"...And I'm-"

"Tsukiyono-san, I know your name," he informed me, looking up. "You're not the only one who studies their oppone-"

"Don't. Look, if we're going to call one another by something that isn't a codename, we might as well try and treat one another like a classmate instead of an adversary, don't you think?" I paused after I said that, noticing even Prodigy blinked. That was the most ridiculous notion that had come out of my mouth since the first time I thought Aya-kun might've liked Sakura-chan.

We were both quiet for a moment, just blinking thoughtfully at one another. "...As long as you aren't suggesting we be... _friends_ or something."

"...Look, even _I_ don't forgive and forget _that_ quickly," I mumbled, opening my own binder, and pulling out my textbook. _Friends? With Prodigy? Uh huh... Right. Because that's _so_ going to happen._


	3. Chapter 3

A few days had passed since that fateful first day of school and it turned out that I only had two classes that weren't with Bombay: Physical education and social studies. Why? Well, because I hadn't learned enough about those two particular subjects to be taking those courses at a twelfth grade level.

It was nearing the end of the day now as both Bombay and I sat in science, staring in utter boredom at the information on the board. The teacher was an American woman, whose Japanese was almost flawless. Her hair hung in waves to her chin and the glasses that were perched on her nose somehow managed to look less 'nerdy' on her than glasses tended to. She was probably my favorate teacher.

"Alright then," she turned from the board to look at the class. "We're going to do a project, in pairs-" she was cut off by the noise of the class as they began to talk to people around them to figure out who was going to partner with whom. With an irritated look, she slapped the ruler against her desk, calling the class to order. "Your partner will be the person beside you."

Bombay and I froze. We couldn't do a project together! Where would we meet? I knew my team would tear him apart if he came near them and I was most certainly _not_ going anywhere _nearhis_ teammates.

"You're project is to create a moving diagram of the digestive system using all the concepts we've learned about how it works. I will be marking you on your creativity and accuracy," she said monotonously before the bell rang. "Have a nice weekend."

Although the rest of the class had begun to move, both the blue-eyed boy and myself sat still, stiff as boards. I hadn't told my teammates we attended the same school yet, even though I had planned to originally. I had the nagging feeling at the back of my head that if I informed them then something would go wrong.

Bombay shuffled a little beside me, the only movement in the now empty room. He moved to the room connecting to this one and approached the teacher.

"Miss... I can't be partners with Naoe-san," I heard him say softly.

"Of course you can, Tsukiyono-san," she looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow. "He sits beside you, does he not?"

"Well yes but-"

"Then he's you're partner," she finalized, turning away once more.

Smelling defeat, Bombay moved away and took a seat beside me again. "...Now what?"

"Maybe... we could stay after school."

"I have work I have to do after school, Prodigy, as do you occasonally, do you not?" I sighed and nodded shortly.

"Maybe just... some days? Don't you get days off?"

He laughed a bit, warmly even. "Letting Ken-kun and Yohji-kun alone in that shop is dangerous. Those two are always fighting about something."

I couldn't help but feel confused by the sudden display of humananity in the older assassin at that moment, to be speaking so fondly about his teammates. He must have noticed, since he stopped his laugh quickly and frowned.

"...Well then... what do we do?" he asked, sighing a little.

"It's just _one_ project isn't it?"

"Yes, just one, worth half our grade for this term," was his flat response.

"Ok... we have an issue," I muttered, looking towards the window.

"...Prodigy, you have some sort of instant messenger?" he asked suddenly. As I looked back towards him, I noticed his thoughtful look as he reached to pull his binder out of his backpack.

"...Bombay... Have you completely lost all of your sense?"

"We can work on the project that way, then during lunch hour weekdays we can work on the model."

The logic was all there and he genuinely seemed worried about failing the project. With a sigh of complete disbelief, I took the paper from him and quickly wrote down my e-mail address for him.

"And I can be sure you won't hack into my system?"

"I could have done that even without your e-mail, Prodigy," he responded, tucking the address into his pocket.

"..." I watched as he stood, slinging his bag onto his back.

"Do you take a bus home, or do you walk?" he asked, absently brushing his bangs out of his eyes.

"Why?" I asked in reponse, my eyes narrowing to watch him suspiciously.

"Because, if you walk we can discuss what we're going to do about the project, then I can give you a lift to a bus stop, or somewhere closer to your place. It won't be as suspicious for you that way," he reasoned. "You are late, are you not?"

With a soft sigh, I nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

_Serithus: I can't believe you did that.  
__  
NightZero: Why not? She deserved it. _

Serithus: Good job being non-existent, Prodigy.

NightZero: She did, though. Next time she touches me, I'm desking her.

Serithus: Very low-profile, Prodigy, very low-profile.

NightZero: Oh hush up. Aren't we supposed to be working on a project or something?

Serithus: ...Crap, I forgot. Anyways... Did you get the supplies together for tomorrow?

NightZero: Of course. And you have your stuff?

Serithus: Yep, and I booked one of the study rooms in the library for the week, so it's all ours to work in. No disturbances.

NightZero: Unless you decide to get off topic again.

Serithus: lol, it was your fault!

* * *

Last nights friendly atmosphere continued on to Monday when I caught up with Prodigy in the hallway. We walked to class together in silence, taking our seats five minutes before the bell. Since it was the first day of the week and all, we had our homeroom and nothing to do. With a bored sigh, I went to stand by Prodigy's desk.

"So, get your Math homework finished?"

"More or less," he murmured.

"...More or less isn't a yes. Sensei won't be happy if you hand in another incomplete assignment."

"I know, but I really hate this crap," Prodigy looked away from the window to me. "Why Calculus? It's too easy!"

"It should be. Why are you taking Math if you hate it so much?" I asked, curiously.

"...Because, my timetable wasn't full."

Laughing, I shook my head. "Naoe-san... You don't need to have a full timetable, as long as you have six courses. If you finished Math twelve, you don't need to take Calculus."

He gave me a blank look then. "So why do you take it?"

"I like it," I smiled. "Besides, looks good on the resume."

"It's always about the looks, isn't it?"

"Mmmhmmm, what else would it be about? If you look wretched it's hard to get a job with people. Why shouldn't the same apply to the image of your minds intelligence?"

"Naoe-_san_ wouldn't know anything about looking good, Omi-kun!" a females voice called from the door as Tanamuri approached. "He doesn't know anything about fashion or appearances, not like you do."

She gave me a big smile, which made me sigh. "I don't know, Tanamuri-chan, I think Naoe-san looks good just the way he is."

Looking appalled, she shook her head, grabbing Prodigy's hand. "See these nails? Rough and unattended, his hair is flat and unstyled, he wears the exact same thing to school everyday, and just _look _at that atrocious bag!"

I couldn't help but laugh, Prodigy's face was void of emotion, but I could see the vague irritation in his body language, something that Tanamuri didn't seem to notice.

"Now, now, Naoe-san, no desking."

"Shove it, Tsukiyono," he muttered.

Tanamuri sighed and shook her head, examining her olive painted nails. "And that language. It won't get you anywhere."

The bell rang, and student flooded in, so I returned to my seat, still laughing a bit at Prodigy's disgruntled look. I took my seat in the middle of the room, as usual, pulling out my homework to make sure I had everything completed. I don't usually have homework that carries over, so I've come to realize I tend to remember last minute things I was supposed to do.

Glancing over at Prodigy, I smiled a bit. It was strange being in school together with someone I had a vague… phobia of… I really sound pathetic. Highly trained assassin afraid of a fifteen year old. Granted that he's a fifteen year old assassin with psychic powers. See? The math is all there! I can be afraid of him.

NagiTrained assassin + psychic powers + cute, innocent appearance.

Omi Trained assassin + cute, innocent appearance.

Nagi - Omi Psychic powers.

He has things I don't. What can I say? _…Oh, he looked at me… _Slightly embarrassed, I looked away, back to my homework. Or… the doodles on my page, rather. I still couldn't remember any homework I had forgotten.

Watching my page, I blinked and studied the doodles curiously. They looked suspiciously familiar; in fact, they looked eerily familiar. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out some pencil crayons and set to work on the doodle to try and confirm or deny my suspicious.

Brown hair. Crap. Brown eyes. Double crap. Purple and green outfit… Well… I think I did that more to hope that it wasn't him than anything. But it was. Prodigy - no, Nagi – decorated my page, in all sorts of interesting poses. Now don't think perverted folks, did I mention _purple and green outfit_? I'm pretty sure I did.

I'm scaring myself. Putting away my pencil and pencil crayons, I sighed and looked for something else to do. To do, to do, to do… I hate homeroom. I ended up watching the seconds hand tick away the class, which probably made the class seem longer but… hey, I was bored.

I waited for the bell to ring, then Nagi and I headed to our first class. I wonder if he'll be too angry with my calling him Nagi. I wouldn't mind he if called me by first name. Crap. Ok, enough thinking. It's only nine and my brain is already malfunctioning. I hate this.

* * *

"…Damn thing, all I want is a bottle of water" Nagi murmured, half whining as he re-entered the study room. 

I blinked at him in confusion as I held the drying "oesophagus" to the bottom of the "mouth" of our diagram. Well, it actually wasn't much of a diagram. In fact it was more like a model, but neither of us really cared about the difference. I was always used to going above and beyond the rules anyway, and Nagi didn't seem to much mind.

"Here," he said softly, placing a can of some random drink beside me. A drink I was too busy to look at. Taking his seat beside me, his hands reached up and moved over mine to hold the oesophagus in place. I could feel myself blushing and quickly moved my hands away, allowing him to take over.

Turning away, I reached for the stomach made out of a balloon-like material. Lucky for the pair of us, we knew a fair bit about the… appearance of the inner body. And the feel of it. And it certainly felt weird holding the stomach of our model.

Funny how much my thoughts divert from everything around me when I'm embarrassed. I mean… here's this strange, quiet, attractive young boy sitting beside me who's got me all worked up and acting so wretchedly like a girl… But I'm thinking about the feel of a stomach in my hand. I wonder which is worse.

"…Omi-kun… It's dry. We can attach the stomach now," Nagi informed me. It took a little bit for me to register that he called me 'Omi-kun,' but when I did, I felt my heart tour around. _Damn… bad… wrong! Why the heck do I keep thinking of my _enemy_ like some school girl? That's right… _girl._ He's got me worked up like I'm… in _love_ or something. We barely even know each other!_

_I'm not even gay! …Am I? _Glancing subtly at Nagi, I groaned softly. _Bad, bad, bad… Ok… Gay is ok. I don't mind that… at least it explains something! I'm not in love… just responding to his testosterone… that's right… Nothing to worry about. Just ignore it._

"Omi-kun?" his voice, and the touch of his hand on mine made me jump and snap back into reality. "You look pale, are you ok?"

I blinked at him a bit, then shook my head. "I have… to go, Prodigy," I said quickly, and fled.

* * *

A/N: -Pleasedly nibbles cookie- Wai… I have such luffly reviewers… You guys make me a really happy authoress. I'm sorry this took so long in coming… I've been busy trying to bring up my Math and Social Studies grades since it's almost the end of the year. You guys are so nice… It makes me really happy when reviewers like what I write. Even… if they like it just enough to bother reviewing… Cheer! For the reviewers of this fandom are very much active in comparison to the Y/K fandom. And it's the K/O off-season (I like to call it the off-season) so everyone's vanished off to get ready for finals. 

Anyways, since finals ARE soon, the next chapter might be late, too… I hope you understand. I need damn good grades to be a teacher.


	5. Chapter 5

He didn't return. I finished putting the model together alone, while finding myself oddly worried about him. Omi was away for a week, and I had yet to figure out how to get a hold of him. I was sure to collect all his homework each day in case he came online, but he didn't even do that.

Actually… we encountered Weiß on a mission during that week and he wasn't there either. It would be safe to say I was rather worried. Ridiculous… worried about an enemy… but I had this strange sense of emptiness the more I realized he really wasn't around.

Did I do something wrong? Was he angry with me? …Did I really care? _Ok, stupid, of course I care, if I didn't I wouldn't be so hung up about this._

One o three in the morning, and for all my worth I couldn't fall asleep. I watched the hands on the clock tick away the time with absent fascination. Our project was due in a couple days, along with our presentation… but Omi had all our data!

All of a sudden, there was a beeping noise on my computer, and I blinked, then headed over to see what it was. And there he was… Serithus, online. However, just as I opened a chat window, he vanished again.

With a heavy sigh, I went to lay down again, then almost toppled out of my bed as the door opened and a man with very distinct, unruly red hair sauntered in. "Chibi, we need to talk."

"…..Schu, I wanna sleep, go away," I grumbled irritably.

"No, Nagi. We need to talk," Schu said it with so much emphasis; I could hardly believe it was Schu. He had a look on his face that just said 'This is a big deal.' _You_ didn't have to be a telepath to know the man had an issue.

"…What?" I sighed, sitting up.

"Bombay. That's what."

I blinked, looking at him, trying to shield my thoughts. Did he know? Had I managed to let it slip? _No… I can't have, I was so careful…_

"No, it's not about you and him and your school….. which whatever. That's not the issue here," Schu looked slightly amused for a moment. "If you went and got yourself fucked by a kitten, that's your own thing. What we need to discuss, though, is the information Bombay has on us."

"What? …..What information?" I blinked a few more times. Sleep before this discussion would have been a very, _very_ nice thing.

"…All of it. The only thing he doesn't seem to know is our location. Nagi… What have y-"

"I haven't told him anything!" I sputtered. "I can't believe you'd think I would! We have classes together, and we got stuck together on an assignment, that's it. No, I have not kissed him, slept with him, or whatever the hell else your fucked up brain seems to be putting together – and I certainly have not given him any information about us."

"…Then how does he know, Nagi?" Schu looked evenly at me.

"…He doesn't. He can't."

"…Clean up the mess before Crawford finds out, or you're gonna have shit to deal with." Schu shook his head and headed for the door. "G'night, chibi…"

I sat awake after he left thinking for hours. Had I let something slip? No… I was careful… _mostly…_ Had he hacked my computer? He couldn't have… I would've known… What was going on, then?

I fell asleep, thinking about him and what he might have done to get our information.

* * *

He wasn't at school the next day, or the day after. I was starting to fret about our assignment, as I sat at my computer, when a little message beeped in the lower right hand corner of the screen.

Clicking it, an e-mail popped up with a document attached entitled 'Project data.' With much relief, I printed off the document and set it aside, without bothering to look at it. I continued to look at the rest of the e-mail.

'_Prodigy… I'm sorry I haven't been at school to help you with the assignment, something came up, and I haven't been feeling so great. I hope the information helps; I worked as best I could. Maybe you could revise it for me, it might not make sense – fevers and assignments just don't go well together, do they?  
'I hope you've been doing ok on your other assignments... and good luck on the presentation, I'm sorry I won't be there.  
'Wishing you all the best;  
Omi'_

He was sick? …If he was sick, why hadn't he been online? Was illness generally an excuse for missing a mission? Something seemed fishy about the e-mail, so I turned and finally grabbed the assignment. It explained everything… feverish or not.

'_Something's going on, Prodigy… The others are acting weird - my team, that is. I don't know what's going on, but they won't let me leave... Not even for missions. Ken-kun… I think he might just be a little on the edge but… the others… I can't explain them._

'_Yohji-kun was taken into Kritiker the other day… They said it was a test of some sort. They just wanted to make sure his fighting skills were still up to par… he came back… strange. Aya-kun was the same, he went in for the test, and came back strange. I don't know what to do, and they're honestly freaking me out.  
'Ken-kun goes in for testing tomorrow, and I'm not feeling so great about it. What if he comes back weird? If I lose him, I don't know what I'll do… I'll be stuck. I'm scheduled to go in next week… I have six days to figure out what the hell is going on. I know we're supposed to be opponents but… I need your help, Nagi…I can't do this on my own… and if I can't figure it out… I need you to figure it out for me. Something is going on, and I don't think it's good.  
'Don't respond to this e-mail, they've been hovering over my shoulder every time I'm online – Yohji-kun and Aya-kun.  
K27135'_

So, he wasn't sick. That didn't make me feel much better. What did make me feel a small glowy ball in the pit of my stomach was that he was turning to me, that he trusted me to help him.

I studied it a few more times, then finally examined the code at the very bottom. K27135? A lock combination? A street? A_.. library code_… It struck me. The book we had been working out of, the book Omi barely tore his face out of… K27135.

I shut down the computer, stashing the 'assignment' under my mattress before pulling on my coat and shoes. I needed that book.

* * *

Yeah... it's short... I know... I just haven't been much motivated to write. Especially this, since I still don't quite know where I'm going - well... I didn't until I finished this chapter. I hope you liked it... And many, many apologies to those of you who've waited so patiently for this. Thanks... 


	6. Chapter 6

Yes, this too was a long time in coming. Nine classes, including before and after school classes apparently doesn't do much for those of us who are completely disorganized. Ugh.

Anyways, I want to leave this warning because... I'm me, and I'm weird:

**_This chapter contains scenes that may be disturbing to some readers. Parental digression is advised._**

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"Ken-kun?" even to my own ears, my voice sounds meek. I'm scared, to the depths of my heart I'm terrified. Yohji-kun and Aya-kun had done a good job of driving that feeling of fear into me - blank eyes, soundless movements, terrifyingly quiet breaths, all put together to have me on the edge constantly.

"Omi? What is it?" Ken-kun's eyes seemed to have the same sort of expression that I expect I have in my own eyes. Fear. Discomfort. Confusion.

"...Ken-kun... be careful when you go," there was a small touch of pleading in my voice. "Yohji-kun and Aya-kun... they're acting funny and... I don't want you to come back strange, too. Please..."

He smiled gently at me, and ruffled my hair as he pulled on his jacket. "I'll do my best to figure out what's going on. Aya and Yohji... I don't think they were suspicious... but me... I know to watch out." With a slightly bigger smiled he moved away to pull on his shoes. "'Sides, whatever it is, I honestly doubt they'll try it on me. Aya was always freaky, and Yohji... was always an ass. Me... They can't much change me without drawing up suspicion, can they?"

He tried to console me, and lucky for both of us, it worked. I held out my hand to help him up, once he finished tying his shoes, and noticed the slight wrinkle of his nose as what I had in my hand pressed against his palm. He didn't say a word, just nodded and hugged me.

"Look after yourself, Omittchi. I don't know what they might do with two freaks and one adorable, helpless brainiac."

I felt this was the best time to roll my eyes. "I'm not helpless, Ken-kun."

"But you're adorable?"

"...Ken-kun, I don't want to think about the implications of what you're saying... Yohji-kun... and... _Aya-kun_... I don't even know if they _have_ hormones anymore."

I succeeded in making Ken-kun laugh before he left. But even so, he was gone - for good.

When he returned, it was much the same as Aya-kun and Yohji-kun. He didn't speak very much, and the words he did say sounded terrifyingly rehearsed. However... before whatever happened to him happened, he had managed to collect data for me, and also managed to get it to me, though how he managed it is beyond me. The small chip was ready to be viewed at any time, and I would have done it as soon as I could, if it wasn't for the fact that all three of them seemed to be keeping a very close eye on me.

"Where are you going?" "What are you working on?" "What do you want for dinner?" "Don't be too long." Those were some of the very frequent questions that were asked of me for days after Ken-kun came home. I would answer simply, the only way I could. The bathroom, my homework, spaghetti, and I won't.

Nothing else could really be done. I needed to get the information to Nagi, whatever was on that chip - it was important that Nagi got it before I had to go in. If he didn't... I might exist afterwards as a machine with my lines rehearsed and my abilities manipulated by whoever was at the top of this food chain.

It took a while for my genius to kick in. I asked very politely if Aya-kun would return a library book for me, with the chip hidden in it. I hoped that he wouldn't check, and it seemed that he didn't. The book was returned and very soon, it was obvious that the chip had remained in there.

That, however, was the least of my problems.

------

I was debating going to bed early due to horrible boredom, heavy eyes, and the T.V. providing no means of relief. I was slowly drifting off on the couch, when a slight pressure fell on my ankles. I didn't think much of it, assuming the blanket on the couch had fallen when I adjusted my position. Following that pressure, there came a pressure on my wrists, this was when I finally opened my eyes.

It occurred to me, then, that they felt particularly heavy, almost - but not quite - as if I had been drugged. That didn't seem possible until my blurry vision cleared to allow me to see my team-mates.

Green eyes above me, violet pinning me down with more than just physical weight against my ankles. Yohji-kun and Aya-kun... I hadn't even thought to check the food Aya-kun had made... it was habit, and apparently it was a habit that needed to be forgotten as soon as possible. Ken-kun was no where to be seen, though I had a sneaking suspicion he was hovering just outside of my sight.

"What... what are you doing?" I asked softly, licking my somewhat dry lips.

"...Following orders." Said a very rehearsed voice from just past Yohji-kun. I was right, Ken-kun was there.

"What orders? Why wasn't I informed of this?" I asked again, growing increasingly uneasy as Ken-kun came into view with what looked like a set of recently sharpened scissors.

"Because," Aya-kun's voice came, this time, just as rehearsed as Ken-kun's, "the mission is you."

As much as I hate to admit it, I honestly thought they meant to kill me. I was drugged, held down, and had a team-mate with a very sharp object standing near me. Aside from that, I was also 'the mission.' It would have made sense, right?

What they did, though... what they did had no reason, or logic. What they did was gratifying to themselves, and managed to do what no other possible means of torture could have done to me. Whoever it was that held their leash, they intended to cause not only physical pain, but mental, and emotional - and the mission was successful.

Clothes were torn and mangled, the living room smelled strongly of blood, sweat, and sex. My voice was raw and sore with the amount I had screamed, and I wished more than once that I could pass out from the pain, but I was unable. They kept me awake quite well. It disturbed me... Ken-kun, of them all, disturbed me most. It wasn't him. While Aya-kun and Yohji-kun caused me as much pain as possible, Ken-kun's hands touched nothing but my face, caressing almost as if he was sorry and wished he could do something to help.

And yet, he supplied the weapon, the bonds, and whatever else seemed to be necessary. I was in a state of utter confusion, and pain. When it was all over, Ken-kun gently carried me to my bedroom, placed me in my bed, and locked my door on the way out - from the outside.

I was in no state to protest... in fact, I was in no state to move at all. My vision was swimming, and my body ached, even the slightest movements sent shockwaves of pure agony from my toes to the tip of my head. The stench of blood lingered even in my room, as did the scent of sex. All I wanted at that moment was death.

It took a couple minutes for me to realize that death wasn't going to help anyone. What I needed was a bath, and a way out of this house. I needed Nagi, and I needed to save the people I cared about - even if they had hurt me, Ken-kun's behaviour made me sure that they were still in there somewhere. And if that was so - there was a way to save them.

It was then, as I lay in bed like a wounded, betrayed animal, that Ken-kun's words struck me:

_"Look after yourself, Omittchi. I don't know what they might do with two freaks and one adorable, helpless brainiac."_

Perhaps... it was a warning. A warning that I was too anxious to pick up on. I thought he had been joking... but maybe, just maybe, he knew. If that was the case, he must have figured it out from somewhere. Just like me, he had been confined to the house. Just like me, he had been watched like a hawk. We were treated the same in every respect - so where had he managed to pick it up?

A mission. That was all he had done that I hadn't managed to do - he was allowed to attend a mission, while I had been forced to stay home. They had encountered Schwarz, but that was before I was able to message Nagi, they couldn't have known anything - could they?

------

...You know, I would apologize profusely if I felt any real reason to. If you honestly like Aya, Yohji and Ken well... I love Ken, really, so none of this is meant as a "GRARRRGHH! They're evil! Look how evil they be:Foams at mouth:" sort of thing. Apparently I was just... angsty today So much for kicking the habit of random angst.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry this took so long. I tried on a variety of occassions to upload but more than once it said that the file was corrupt. After much work I've managed to get it up, so here it is. My usual pattern of view will be changing next chapter, btw, as prior warning.

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What I read was making me sick. Schuldig sat on my bed, his mind lingering within my own, quite welcome as he attempted to calm me. Although I realized I shouldn't have felt most of what I was feeling, it was very comforting to know that Schuldig felt the same sort of disgust at the information on the chip.

They were experimenting on their own operatives - Not just experimenting on their responses to this activity or that activity, they were actually using their amateur technology to attempt to reconstruct parts of their brains. All of this was being operated without any government knowledge or interference.

_Chibi, we can't do anything for Weiß. We have our own orders._ Schuldig reasoned, reading my thoughts of a bloody massacre.

"I have to do something, Schu, I can't just... _let_ this happen! Estet has it's own things to worry about, they've cut communication with us, we don't have anything else to be doing!" I swivelled my chair to look at him. "Please."

_It's too late to do anything for the kittens. I realize you care for Bombay, Nagi, I do, but I don't believe that Crawford would honestly support you on this particular fiasco._

"...It's obvious Omi doesn't have the information you thought he had, isn't it? They'll be even more dangerous to us if this goes through, right? If it works? Kritiker's got it's sick, very twisted side, and I don't know just what virus leaked in, but this is worse than anything Estet ever pulled - and there were plenty of missions I found too disgusting to follow up on. I dare you to tell me you participated in them all."

_Fine. We'll ask Crawford, but I honestly don't believe he'll support you on this, Nagi. I'll back you one hundred percent if he allows this._ Schuldig nodded, his mind disconnecting from my own. "I'll get Crawford."

"...Thanks, Schu."

------

Only a moment or two after he left, a scream resonated through the building. Schuldig. Quickly following his, a second cry of pain, before the wave hit me, as well. I crumpled out of my chair in agony, my head filled with pain, confusion and betrayal. The world tilted and danced before my eyes, and a very long distance was covered in a short time, mentally.

I realized that Crawford, Schuldig and I were all connected in this mental excursion. Although I knew they were present, there was no sign of them as there might have been if Crawford had accidentally broadcast a vision. This connected the three of us directly to one mind, one body, currently in utter agony.

Gentle hands touching our face, sharp scissors leaving marks across our body, and something disturbingly familiar forcing itself inside, tearing, ripping, bleeding. For a moment, it subsided, before starting up again, the screams coming more loudly.

Lips and fingers touched, dancing over our body, smearing our blood across our lips, chest and legs. The blurry vision brought it's hands to it's mouth, licking our blood from it's fingers in an almost sensual manner - it would have been if it didn't look so practiced.

The mind we were caught in was strong, whoever it was, strong enough to trap us there in our connection to Schuldig. Behind the wall of screaming and agony, there was a soft voice, a soft voice speaking, in pain.

_I'll save you... I'll protect you... It hurts... but I'll let you... They'll help us, Ken-kun... He'll help us... he'll come._

The voice was soon hidden again behind the wall of pain, before the mind released it's grip. As we spiraled painfully back to our own bodies, I let a thought loose, as loud as I could, hoping to console the body.

_I'm coming, Omi, I swear I'm on my way._

* * *

"CRAWFORD!" I managed to splinter the door as I came in. I was in such a rage, my power was a swirling mass of dark energy that created a very dangerous wind inside the building.

"We're leaving Farfarello here, for this," Crawford responded. He seemed almost afraid, for the first time. He knew. He knew that not only would I not stand by and allow this to happen, but he knew that we, as a team, had to help them.

Schuldig looked to be in such a daze, I wasn't sure he would quite be able to participate in this mission, but I nodded nevertheless. The ride to the Koneko was a silent one, with Schuldig recovering from his experience - which was likely stronger than the aftershock that Crawford and I got - Crawford creating a plan of some sort, and myself brooding in a dark energy that was only just barely contained, it wasn't a wonder.

We pulled over outside the Koneko, and I was the first out of the car, storming, litterally, towards to building, and blasting the door open in my rage. Crawford didn't bother to stop me, in my state, I was highly unpredictable, and dangerous.

The elder three Weiss members were no where to be seen, as we blasted our way through wall after wall of the building. Schuldig put a hand on my shoulder, just as I thought they had left, and pointed upstairs.

_They're hovering near Bombay. They know we are here._

I nodded, and glanced at Crawford, who signalled to me to lead the way. Without the slightest bit of hesitance, I made my way upstairs, ready to lash out at the first person I saw. Except - the first person I saw was the only one who couldn't, and likely wouldn't, defend himself.

Blue eyes peeked tiredly from beneath cinnamon blonde bangs, and lit up, only for a moment, as our eyes made contact. As I reached the top of the stairs to ask if he was ok, he turned away, walking into a room.

Watching, I noticed that he walked with a limp, and that blood spotted the back of his shirt, and pants. If I had any doubts before, they had vanished, because it was painfully obvious that it was Omi's mind we had become linked to.

As I made a move to follow him, Schuldig reached his hand out to place it on my shoulder. Looking back at him, I saw him shake his head. _The kittens are waiting inside. Bombay doesn't want you to hurt them... He wants to make them better. With the state his mind is in, I honestly don't suggest hurting them._

"_So I do what, then?"_ I whispered softly.

_Pin them. Pin them against a wall, and let Bombay, or myself knock them out. We'll take them back somewhere that they can't do any damage until we figure out what's going on._

It wasn't what I wanted to do. Truth be told, I wanted to spread every molecule of their bodies across the world, to never be recovered. However, Schuldig again made a good point. It was likely that he knew of Omi's mental state far better than Crawford or myself.

I nodded with a sigh and started towards the door, ready to (as painfully as possible) pin the Weiss elders against a wall. Sure enough, stepping into the room, two of the three were prepared to lunge, and quickly became lovely wall decorations. The third, however, managed to keep himself from being flung into a wall by being the only one with enough common sense to be directly in front of Omi, his hands holding the little leader's wrists with what looked to be a bruising force.

Omi attempted to peek over Abyssinian's shoulder, but was met with a jerk on his wrists that hid him again. Schuldig, who appeared behind me, made quick work of Balinese and Siberian, who I then allowed to drop to the floor in an unconcious heap; however, Schuldig seemed surprised to find that there was a third who hadn't met with the same vicious fate.

"What do you want here?" Abyssinian growled, the hands on Omi's wrists tightening. His voice, although growling, seemed oddly mechanical, as if he'd been expecting us for weeks and practiced what he'd say to us.

"Obviously, Abyssinian, darling, we're here to hang a few trophies on the wall," Schuldig said, sassily. Although I would have loved to check over my shoulder to glare at Schuldig, Abyssinian's sword was raised and just waiting for an opportune moment to strike. "Give us the adorible little kitten, and we'll be on our way. If you don't..."

By the way Schuldig trailed off, I assumed he was glancing towards the two already unconcious Weiss members._ I can't read the freak, Nagi... Honestly. It's not like... he has a barrier - it's almost as if he has no mind what so ever. The other two had thoughts... though hard to understand, they existed, but Abyssinian..._

"A-Aya-kun... p-please stop... you're hurting me," Omi mumbled from behind Abyssinian, he sounded as if he was afraid to even raise his voice.

That one moment gave me the perfect opportunity, and I took it. As Abyssinian turned around, his wrists made a delicious snap, and he too became a wall ornament. Schuldig, after a brief moment of surprise, dug into Abyssinian's head and put the redhead out cold.

------

So... who here is royally confused :Looks for raised hands: Yes, I realize Abyssinian - er... I blame that on typing it too much - RAN is being... weird... It'll all be explained whenever I get around to writing whatever chapter has the information.. I think. As well... I've noticed I don't know who else might have noticed that I suddenly changed the style of writing this chapter. I can't quite figure out how to return to the style of previous chapters... So apologies to anyone who prefered the previous style.


	8. Chapter 8

_Looks like I'm back! Woo, a trip to Japan sort of screws up a writers writing system... Not that I'm good for keeping things on time... Ah well. Here's the next installation._

* * *

I couldn't bare the way he was looking at me. Not just him... all of them. I never thought it would come to the day where my enemies would be the ones to save me from my friends.

Green eyes, brown eyes, and eyes of some dark colour that I couldn't make out were all watching me, pitying me. I wanted to be alone, I wanted to hide somewhere, and stay there. I wanted to wake up, and discover that this was all some sick, bizarre dream - but in truth it was reality, and I was stuck in it.

"Omi...?" his soft voice asked for permission, he wanted to know if I would allow him closer. I wasn't sure if I could. Looking up again, my eyes met his for a brief moment before I turned to start packing clothing.

"Aya-kun has to have his sweater," I murmured, "he gets grumpy without it. And I'm sure Ken-kun wants his soccer ball... Though I'm not sure where he left it... 's probably in the hall somewhere..." I used simple thoughts and unnecessary comments to attempt to keep my mind occupied. "Yohji-kun probably wants his smokes... I'll just have to tell him I couldn't find them... they're bad for him, you know..."

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Yohji-kun being lifted from Ken-kun's back, and watched as he floated to the door. Blinking a little, it occurred to me that Ken-kun was moving, too, except, he was being carried. I watched the very peculiar orange-haired Mastermind approach Aya-kun before I stepped in.

"Don't touch him," it occurred to me too late that that might make Mastermind angry, and backed away, behind Aya-kun, merely allowing my upper body to drape over him, protectively.

_Kitten, I don't intend to hurt you, or your friend. I just don't believe you can carry him all by yourself._ Mastermind's eyes were sincere, but I still wasn't sure if I could trust him. When I glanced over his shoulder and saw the tears in Prodigy's eyes, I released Aya-kun, and instead walked over to the still conscious brunette.

"...Why are you crying?" I asked, but Prodigy wouldn't answer me. He offered a hand, gently.

_We will take care of the clothing, kitten. Go with Prodigy, and have a bath before the blood dries your shirt to your skin._

Glancing over my shoulder, I nodded tiredly. "Ok... then... may I sleep?"

_Yes, kitten, you may sleep after._

* * *

I hated the way he flinched when I touched him. I was declared the only one that Omi really trusted, and thus was appointed to assist him with his bath. I asked him if he wanted me to wait outside, but he merely shook his head and stepped into the tub, fully clothed.

"Omi, you have to take your clothes off to have a bath," I said softly, patiently, watching with regret as he tensed when I spoke.

"...I... I can't," he whispered, the tone in his voice much like that of someone who'd seen a ghost.

"Why not?"

"...B-because... it hurts," he murmured, simply. It was disturbing to see such a brilliant mind reduced to such simple manners of speaking, and thinking.

"Do... you want me to help?" I asked, my voice still soft. I was almost scared to ask.

"...W-will it hurt?" his eyes locked on mine for a moment, beaten, scared, but for a brief moment, they trusted me.

"I'll try very hard to keep it from hurting," I promised. He allowed our eyes to connect again for a moment, before he approached me, turning around.

Gently easing the cloth away from clotting blood, I did my very best to remove the shirt without hurting him. He seemed to be trying to assist, but managed to hurt himself in the process. He hissed softly in pain, and I turned him around to see what he'd done.

"You reopened this cut, Omi... Careful next time, ok?" I warned patiently.

"Ok," he nodded, watching my hands as I eased the cloth away from the wounds on his stomach and chest as well. Removing the shirt, I set it in the sink, then glanced back at the blonde.

"Can you take off your pants, or shall I help?"

"It's... ok if you help... please," he murmured, beginning to undo his button.

Feeling my face light up, I knelt in front of him and removed the jeans the best I could without hurting him. Without waiting for me to ask, he started pulling at his boxers as well, removing them as I looked away, slightly embarrassed.

His tone, when it reached me, was childish, and slightly sad. "Is it horrible?" he asked.

"Is what horrible?" I glanced back in his direction, focusing on his face.

"...my... body?" Omi wouldn't look at me. The way he took a step back and stood as if preparing to flee made my heart ache. I wasn't sure what to say. If I said yes, I might further upset him, but if I said no, he might take it the wrong way.

"...No, Omi," I decided. If he took it the wrong way, at least he might gain back a semblance of self-confidence. "Your body is not horrible."

He looked at me again, with a small bit of surprise, and a kindling of hope. "...Really?"

I nodded. "Really."

He smiled briefly and moved to sit in the tub, beginning to reach for the taps. I watched as he adjusted the water to a temperature he liked, then glanced over at me, his head cocked to one side, gently. "Will, you help me wash?"

"Do you... want me to?" I attempted to bite back my surprise.

"Please..."

I nodded and made my way over, attempting to wash his back without causing any unnecessary bleeding. I was as gentle as I could manage, lightly running water and cloth over numerous bloody welts and cuts, some of which seeming as though they might scar.

In my careful cleaning, and horribly bad attempts at look only where I was washing, I noticed that the young archer already had a scar. On his left side, near his stomach, a scar ran from his back to his stomach, looking like a bullet wound, of sorts.

"...Omi?"

"Yes?"

"Where did you get this?" I asked, without fully meaning to, as I lightly fingered the scar.

Blinking, he twisted to look a little. "...Fighting an army."

I wasn't sure whether or not I should believe him, before recalling having been locked in an office room under guard, and seeing helicopters.

"Looks painful..." I murmured.

"No... Not anymore. It grazed my side... The fall hurt the most... I could barely move," the boy reminisced, smiling a little. "I remember... It was really rainy... and I almost gave up that night... but Ken-kun..." a shake of his head, "Ken-kun came roaring in, then Aya-kun, guns blazing... I'll never forget how four supposed ex-assassins managed to not only outwit, but out fight an army."

"With you heading them, Omi, I'm not surprised," I smiled, returning to washing his back.

Momentarily, the muscles on his back seized as his entire body went tense. With a startled blinked, I checked to see what I might have rubbed, and noticed with distaste that I had rubbed a particularly ugly looking cut the wrong way.

"Sorry, Omi..." I mumbled.

"S'ok... It hurt more... when I got it..." he responded, slowly relaxing again.

Biting my lip a little, I finished washing him in silence, watching him fiddle with the water without any sort of real interest in it. When we finished, he dried himself off, and took a seat on the counter, allowing me to apply peroxide to his wounds. He hissed every now and then, the hand he'd placed on my shoulder gripping slightly harder, but he would quickly loosen it with a murmured apology.

Moving on, I bandaged some of the deeper wounds, wrapping them carefully around his chest, stomach, and arms, as he put little band-aids on smaller cuts. Once he was dressed again, I led him out to the kitchen and I sat down, watching him continue to wander.

"...Where are Ken-kun and the others?" Omi asked, softly, turning from looking at the fridge to glance at me.

"I'm not entirely sure, Omi," I answered honestly, "Chances are they're in a room somewhere, restrained."

For a moment, the foggy look Omi'd been wearing since we found him wore away, and he knelt by my chair. "You got the information..." Nod. "Was it helpful?" Nod. "What was on it? Can I see?"

"I'm not sure if you want to, Omi... It's not... happy."

"I don't expect it would be but... Nagi... Please, I need to know," he looked me straight in the eye, and I sighed.

"Alright. Come with me."


	9. Chapter 9

It was stormy outside, strangely, it reflected how I felt inside. The files Nagi allowed me to read through had put me to shock, then tears, followed by betrayal which gave way to anger. Pure anger.

Schuldig, who currently sat across from me, could obvious read it and kept casting nervous glances at me as I ate. Nagi knew, as well, and had avoided me most of today. I was livid, and even mother nature knew.

"Hey, kitten… you know you can't really… do much about what's happening, right?"

I glared darkly through bangs. My rape was dealt with the moment I read those files, and understood. It became my power. My strength. "I can do whatever I damned well want," I stated, tossing my empty breakfast bowl into the sink with a resounding crashing noise.

Schuldig flinched; I exited to create a plan.

* * *

"Nagi, he's lost it! He's lost everything. A man whose lost everything is the most dangerous kind, because he believes there's nothing left to do," I tried to persuade our local telekinetic to listen, but Nagi had seemed to have fallen under the same spell as the kitten. 

"If he wants to let them test on him… let them do it," Nagi stated, quietly, "it didn't kill you."

"But I was _born_ a telepath, Nagi! We're talking about altering the kitten's DNA!" I frowned at the disinterested look the brunette gave me.

"I thought you loved him…"

"I _do_ love him," Nagi said, softly, hesitant to admit what we both knew to be true.

"Then you would allow him to step into your shoes? Become a puppet to the great puppet-masters? An outcast of society? Even if this helped to save his friends, could they accept him back after a step that's this drastic?"

Both of us paused. I wasn't sure why I was becoming so emotional about this. Nagi seemed similarly puzzled for a moment, before turning away. "It's his decision to make," he said so softly I wouldn't have heard him, if the same words hadn't been running through his head. "If he wants to throw everything away for them… so be it."

"You realize that we can't guarantee what this may do?" Nod. "This is permanent."

"I know."

"It may kill you."

"So be it."

* * *

I watched as the doctor moved to put the needle into the IV, and grew fascinated as the shimmering blue liquid snaked down the tube, and into my arm. There was no pain, or sting, just a sleepy feeling that washed over me, growing steadily stronger. It wasn't the sleepy feel of a hunt, but a genuine tired feeling.

Nagi watched from the window, with Schuldig, while Crawford stood talking to a doctor for a moment. They had agreed to keep me with them, and help figure out what this might have caused.

Interestingly, there had been many of these tests done, and they had explained that the chances of it being successful were higher in those who were angry. Which seemed to fit perfectly with me, at this moment, despite that the sleepy feeling was growing stronger.

I was conscious long enough to watch the doctor remove the empty needle from the IV before things went blank. The dreams I had made very little sense and everything felt tinted with red. I saw people dying, people I knew, but I was aware that these people didn't know me, or care about me, and that I didn't feel anything for them.

When next I was conscious, I sat in a white room, emptied of everything. A member of Schwarz stood at each wall, Nagi in front of me, watching me. He spoke, but I heard nothing. Schuldig's voice filled my mind, next.

_Kitten,_ he said, softly,_ the test is believed to have been successful. Can you hear me?_

I nodded, and Nagi frowned, biting his lip. He turned to say something to someone beside me, who I didn't care to identify, but I didn't hear a word of what was said. For a moment, I grew worried. Had I gone deaf? Was I now unable to hear? Seeming to notice my thought pattern, Schuldig's voice came again.

_You are not deaf, kitten. Currently you cannot speak, or move, or hear, but this will pass. It's a side effect of the testing. They say it may be a few hours until you can move fully again, and a few weeks for the voice and hearing to come back._

I nodded again. _We will be taking you home in a moment,_ Schuldig said, as Crawford exited through the door behind Nagi, _as soon as Braddy-kins finishes talking to the doctors._

I nodded again, wishing to draw my knees up to my chin, but my body wasn't ready to cooperate, as the command only twitched the tips of my fingers slightly. It was strange in that I didn't feel any different. There was no tingling, there was no burning, there was no absence of feelings, either. My arm itched, which was driving me slightly crazy, because I couldn't scratch it, and I could feel my hair tickling against my cheeks.

Crawford returned, and Schuldig less than gently heaved me over his shoulder. Under any other circumstances I would have muttered a complaint, but as that was beyond my ability, I settled with scowling at the floor, and occasionally his feet, when I could see them. I could feel traces of amusement in my psyche, and it occurred to me that Schuldig was probably keeping a connection in case I needed something. It was kind of touching in a way, and I would have been thankful for his concern if it had been shown prior to his manhandling.

* * *

Children were strange, disturbing things, that was the conclusion I had drawn by the time we returned home. With both Nagi and Omi pestering me, I ended up being the go-between for conversation. While Farf was amused, I was not.

Nagi's concern had been overwhelming from the time Omi had gone in for testing, and grew steadily worse once he went in for the implementation of his… well… we weren't sure what to call it. Omi's pestering was mostly on the side of boredom. He couldn't move, or speak, or do _anything_ while we were in the car. I hadn't realized he was so fidgety.

Needless to say, shoving Omi and Nagi into a room together, and fleeing was my first priority upon arrival. It took two days for Omi's hearing to return, and another week for him to regain movement completely. As soon as he could move, we were all surprised to find him outside, climbing trees. He insisted to me, on questioning, that he was trying to make sure his balance was still decent. Nagi insisted he was trying to break his neck, and spent a lot of time hovering near-by to catch the blonde boy.

It was nearing the end of September when we saw the first flickers of Omi's adaptation start to show – though it was more than a flicker. In fact it was a building-wide shortage.

At first we all thought that we were being infiltrated – there was no storm, or high winds outside for the power to go out, after all. After scrambling out a bit to locate the intruder, we soon found that Omi had accidentally lit his light switch aflame, burning along the inside of the wall, and thereby shorting the power.

Omi's response had been to sit there and stare at the wall, and his hand repeatedly. Nagi prodded at the wall somewhat with distaste.

"It was concentrated, the wall itself hasn't been ruined," he stated.

"How is this a bad thing?" Crawford raised an eyebrow at Nagi, "aside from the obvious problem with your pet."

Omi shot Crawford a dark look, with much mental cursing at him which I chose not to relay.

"Well, for you guys it's not a problem, aside from the power being out for the day. But guess who gets the delightful task of fixing the wire?" Nagi grumbled, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Crawford turned and left, and I followed, saluting our grumpy brunette on my way.

* * *

_A/N: I'm sure many of you are thinking "Wait a minute, it's been more than a month since they started school! How can it be the end of September?" Well. Worry not. It's not a plot hole! The Japanese school year actually ends and restarts in the Spring._

_I want you all to know… I honestly hadn't meant to pull this stunt with the Omi-power thing. Really. I usually don't find it viable, and I really don't like playing outside my box but… this whole story has been that so far. Not my usual pairing, writing in first-person instead of third-person… Things like that. So I hope you can all bear with me on my playtime._

_There are only three or four more chapters left to this story… When I finish them, I'll go back and fix the past/present tense problems that have switched every few chapters – they weren't on purpose. But it's what happens when I write in bulk and then take a break… ugh. Anyways, I'm finishing Shadow Eyes before I continue on any of my other stories, so I hope to have this finished in the next two months._


	10. Chapter 10

"I don't know how to control it," he stated, chewing his lip worriedly, "what if I hit you, instead of the target?"

"The point is to learn to control it, Omi." We stood in a large, nearly empty room. Targets were stacked in piles in the corners of the room, and I had two, large targets suspended mid-air. Schuldig's mind lingered against both my mind, and Omi's, supervising from outside of the room.

In the last two weeks, we had measured the approximate temperature of Omi's flames – and they varied from twenty or thirty degrees, to over two hundred, melting a few of Crawford's contraptions. We were under the assumption that Omi could, theoretically, produce much hotter flames, as once in a while we observed flames that were spouts of white, with an intensity that even Omi winced at.

After a couple painful singing episodes, we had agreed that it was time for the blonde to learn to control his adaptation. At first, Farf had volunteered for us, to be Omi's test subject, but after protests from us all about either party's health, I volunteered, and as I was believed to be able to stop great balls of flame, no one complained – not really.

Neither Omi nor myself were quite so sure of this however. As was apparent.

"Can't I practice alone some more? If I fry myself it's fine, but if I fry you…" Omi bit at his lip. I shook my head.

"C'mon, at least try me? I'm not breakable."

Forming a small ball of flame in his hand, as he'd previously been practicing, he tried to aim for the target, causing me to curse and dive out of the way of an orange and white ball of flame that was hurled near my shoulder. With a soft cry, Omi ran over to check me over in a manner very similar to that of a mother-hen.

"I told you! I told you I can't aim!"

"Maybe you're trying too hard not to hit me…" I suggested, thoughtfully, being pinned into place by curious blue eyes.

"Trying too hard? As in… because I'm focusing so hard on trying not to hit you… it's actually locking onto you?"

I nodded. "You're so locked on my position, that the fireball is being locked on my position."

"So I need to ignore you then?"

"Probably."

Standing again, Omi moved to one side and focused on the target. It took a few tries, but finally a ball of flame struck the target with enough force to slam it against a wall, before I allowed it to drop to the ground.

I stood, finally, levitating a new target and adjusting my stance. Unfortunately, this movement seemed to catch Omi's attention, and another ball of flame came hurling in my direction. Unable to dodge this one, I exclaimed quite loudly, cursing as I flung myself to the side to attempt to get as little damage as possible.

Nevertheless, my arm gained a red scorch mark and my body a new attachment.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I told you we shouldn't do this…" Omi wailed softly, eyes alight with worry. "Take off your shirt; let me see how bad it is! If it scars, I'm going to feel so horrible… Gods, I'm sorry… maybe we should use mechanical targets…"

Hesitantly, with a hiss of pain, I pulled both my jacket, and undershirt off, and sat aside to allow Omi to nurse my shoulder. Pain wrenched through my body at the lightest touch, and Omi bit his lip in worry.

"Oh Nagi-kun…" Omi murmured softly, kissing lightly at the still unharmed portion of my shoulder, causing another jolt – this time, one far from pain. Seeming to notice the twitch, Omi glanced at me.

"Did… that hurt?" I shook my head a bit, trying to sit up, and hissing in pain. "I'm so sorry, Nagi-kun…"

My brain failed me, the strange electricity not really fading. "Hey… Omi?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you… do something for me?" I hesitated. My brain was starting to function again, slowly.

"Of course," he leaned towards me, still worriedly, "what would you like?"

"…Could you… maybe… kiss it better…?"

Both of us were surprised with me, and I was abruptly brought back to remembering Schuldig's presence by _his_ shock as well.

"Sorry," I murmured, starting to stand, "I'm not sure… what I was just thinking…"

A soft "Nagi-kun…" was my only warning before soft lips were pressed against mine. I had to admit, while it wasn't what I was thinking, it was enjoyable. Schuldig's mind rather respectfully disconnected from ours, and soon the room consisted of only Omi and I – and we were both content with it that way.

Granted, this strange tingling sensation was only to last a short period of time, because as the two of us shifted closer, deepening our first kiss, with the atmosphere so near heaven that I could almost breathe the feathers, something happened.

"Fuck!"

"Sorry!" Omi started to apologize, then muttered softly. "That's it, you're heading to the doctors."

"Omi!"

"No protests!"

* * *

_A/N: There's more sap to come, so if you thought this was the end… hehehe…_

_Actually, I'm no sap writer, so the sap you do get will be in little bursts. Three more chapters to go... Though I am holding chapter 11 hostage. Can we try for at least two reviews this time? I guess I deserve the silent treatment for not updating in so long before but… Is there no more love? –Sob- _


	11. Chapter 11

It was a cold Thursday night, and I felt chilled to the bone. Nevertheless, I sat in the basement of the Schwarz household, staring through bars at my team-mates. Though I sat, on the cold, hard cement, and though they stood, staring back at me, it felt almost as if I was the one standing, looking down at them.

Their faces read of nothing, though their unshaven looks would normally have made Yohji-kun cringe, they seemed very far from caring about anything else. To be honest, they reminded me of a group of cons, people in hiding. And that was how they were treated.

"Don't worry… Soon things will be back to relative normality," I told them, noticing with trace sadness that there was no response to the statement, not even a flicker in their eyes.

"I won't leave you like this."

I stood, and exited, passing Nagi in the hallway, and continuing on into the room I had been designated. Nagi stood in the doorway, now, watching as I flopped myself onto my bed with a heavy sigh.

"Same as always?" he asked softly, moving to sit on the edge of my bed.

"Of course," I responded, staring at the ceiling. "How much longer do we have to wait?"

"Crawford said that we can head out tomorrow, if you feel that you're ready."

I nodded. "Tomorrow then," he continued, "we'll go tomorrow."

I couldn't hold in the tear that ran down my cheek as I thought about what we were to do. There were people in that building I didn't want dead – people in that building that I cared ever so strongly about, and put my faith in. But I couldn't trust anyone right now.

Nagi laid beside me, wrapping his arms lightly around my waist and pulling me close. _Perhaps you can trust him, kitten, _Mastermind's voice reverberated through my mind, and I nodded a bit, rolling a little to hold Nagi closer.

"Are you… sad?" Nagi asked, sounding faintly puzzled.

"I was…"

"What changed…?" he leaned himself on his elbow to look at me.

"I realized… I wasn't as lonely as I thought I was." I smiled a bit, and Nagi echoed it, in an indistinctly uncomfortable way.

In the last little bit, we'd noticed a change of wardrobe Nagi, from his long sleeves, high collars and long pants, into shorter sleeves and boat-necks. He claimed that the reason for this sudden change had to do with how the sleeves made his burn itch, but Schuldig had already slipped the reason. And it was a reason I appreciated.

I pulled Nagi back down, and his arm gave way allowing for a little 'mph' of surprise from him, before I hugged him in close, lightly stroking over his back. He gave a little shiver, before burying his face in my chest, and we were both quite content to sleep that way, though neither of us was quite ready to sleep.

"Hey… Omi?"

"Yeah?"

"…What… does it feel like to love someone?" Nagi asked, hesitantly.

I blinked. "To love someone… as in care for them? Or… love as in… for all eternity?"

"…Either one."

I looked at the ceiling, petting his head slightly. "Well… I imagine that loving someone for all eternity is like… your heart speeds up whenever you're near them, that they make you want to do ridiculously sappy, and bizarre things, and that you'd want to do anything for them… anything to make them happy, despite whether it's rational or not."

"What about… if you just care about someone?"

"I guess that would be kinda like how I feel about Aya-kun, Ken-kun and Yohji-kun… I can't bear to see them suffer, whether they're aware of it or not. When they make stupid decisions, you want to kick them really hard, and then make it all better. Some of loving for all eternity is probably the same for just caring about someone, and I imagine a lot of caring about someone goes for loving someone as well…

"Why do you ask?" I glanced at Nagi, who looked thoughtful.

"Well… I've never really had the opportunity to love, or care for anyone besides myself… Tot was… Tot was so close… But I don't know if I loved her, I thought at the time I did but…" he trailed off, staring at the wall.

"…But?" I encouraged.

"But… I think that feeling got distorted… sometime in the last few months… made into something smaller than it was."

"How so?"

"Omi… I think… I've… I mean… I think I'm…" He paused, and I didn't push him. He took a deep breath. "I think… I love you."

I smiled and hugged him a bit closer. "I can't imagine your team-mates would be happy to hear that."

"Oh contraire… Schuldig thinks it's wonderful. And Farf can't stop making fun of me," he stated, somewhat monotonously. "I haven't quite pulled the guts together to tell Crawford yet. I don't know that he'd take it quite as well as Schu and Farf."

I kissed the top of Nagi's head with a contented sigh. "Well… I can't say for sure… but I think the feeling is mutual."

Now satiated, Nagi buried his face into my chest again, and closed his eyes. "Goodnight."

"G'night, Nagi-kun…"

* * *

"Everyone have their supplies?" Crawford asked. We nodded. "And everyone understands the plan?" We nodded again. Crawford nodded in response, and we all climbed out of the car, one at a time. 

Schuldig soon took to the roofs, and Farfarello to the alleys, as Nagi, Crawford and myself stepped out of the car.

"This is my battle," I whispered, "you don't have to be here."

"They're our problem, too, Omi," Nagi smiled, taking my gloved hand in an effort to comfort me. I smiled appreciatively in response.

Crawford glanced back at us, and I nodded, a motion which was repeated by Nagi soon after. We headed into the main office building, which hid the few members of Kritiker who met in one spot.

Stepping into the elevator, I punched in a code, and glanced to Nagi. Nagi nodded, and there was a sudden crunching noise, as two cameras imploded in on themselves, as the elevator started moving.

"You're sure we can trust Farfarello on his own?" I asked, staring at the keypad.

"Mastermind is keeping tabs on him. They are both aware of what they're expected to do," Crawford said in the same steady monotone he always used.

The elevator stopped, and I pulled out my darts. "Get ready."

_They're aware that we're here._

* * *

_A/N: Yes... sap sap and more sap. Enjoy your sap while it lasts. Two more chapters to go... And thanks for all the comments guys, I really wasn't going to hold it hostage; that was my excuse incase it came late, hehe. But I appreciate the sentiment.  
_


	12. Chapter 12

The elevator doors slid open, and three perfectly aimed shots blasted past my head with a strange whizzing noise. Three down, and soon after four more were pinned with crushing force to a wall. Another three were down as soon as the tranq darts were out of my fingers, and the three of us progressed deeper into the underground of Kritiker.

Crawford and Nagi barely felt like back-up; it seemed that the halls were cleared before I even reached them. I knew they were clearing my path, though I wasn't quite sure where my path was.

Schuldig's mental touch gave me more definite directions: left here, right there, keep going, take the left-most fork, things like that. I imagined those same directions must have been given to Nagi and Crawford as well, since those paths were also cleared quite quickly.

I took bare moments here and there to be thankful that though all these people seemed set on killing me, they were merely being disabled. A shot to the wrist, knocked out against the wall. This was a consistent pattern for a while, before I reached Farfarello's entry point.

Blood trickled along crevices between tiles, and down white walls, in an almost eerie, horror-psyche-ward kind of way, but even the madman seemed serious and focused on helping me progress.

"This is your war, kitten," he said, as we headed down the hall.

"I know."

"You did so well last time," he commented again, "you made it look easy. This time we'll make it look like a breeze," he grinned in a manner that would have been creepy to anyone who hadn't spent as much time with him as I had recently.

As we reached the labs, Nagi and I came together to crack the security code. After a few moments of annoyed attempts, Nagi simply blasted the doors out of their walls, and we froze.

"Drop the weapons," a peculiarly familiar voice ordered.

This was the point I wished I'd never have to hit.

* * *

"Drop the weapons." I watched as Omi froze, completely. Soon, his hand released the darts, and they clattered to the ground. Omi's thoughts were soon shared with us to do nothing. 

I could see Farfarello to one side, his hands clenching and unclenching, before he consented, and dropped the knives he was holding. My hands were at their sides, and behind me, there was a resounding clank as Crawford, too, dropped his gun.

Soon, a female made her way to the front of the large group of people standing inside the labs. Judging by their lab coats, I guessed they were the scientists behind this disgusting experiment, making me all the more eager to crush them all against a wall; instead, I did nothing.

"Manx," Omi's voice came, coated in agony, "why…? Why you, of all people?"

"Oh don't be so naïve," another voice came, and soon, four more people stood in front of the group. To one side of the one Omi referred to as Manx, stood a pair of blonde men, one with his hair loosely slicked back, and a cigarette perching at the edge of his mouth, while the other, shorter one had a hat adorning his head, and almost childlike brown eyes.

To the other side stood two tall men, one with large, square glasses perched on his nose, and the other with short, light-brown hair, and grey-blue eyes. Their identities were unknown to us for a moment, before Omi again cleared any misconceptions.

_The Crashers, _Schuldig informed us, _reconnaissance team, specializing in explosives, and extraction of information and objects. The kitten says the threat level is relatively low, but to be careful anyway. He wants them alive… he wants them fixed._

I nodded. From the corner of my eye, I could see the internal battle raging in Omi; these people obviously meant something to him, which sparked a strange sense of jealousy, though I quickly suppressed it.

"What have you done with the adapted members of Weiss?" one of the Crashers – _Knight_, Omi provided for us – demanded to know, his hand on the hilt of a sword.

"Adapted?" Omi questioned, "You mean roboticized, don't you?"

"They are adapted – they surpass human, but still are human. You could have been great, just as they are," yet another strange voice cut through, from among the crowd of scientists.

Schuldig immediately began the hunt for this source.

"I want them back," Omi demanded to the voice. "I want them all back to normal!"

"Or you'll what, Bombay? Stick us with your darts? Have Schwarz kill us? Torture us? No one here can feel pain; no one here will give in."

"You aren't one of them, though," Omi concluded. "You're just the same as us, and you can feel pain. And I'll make sure you do, until you tell us how to cure them!"

_Found him,_ Schuldig informed us, dropping out of the rafters, onto a shadowy ledge. Omi's head snapped back towards Knight again, as he drew his sword.

"I don't want to hurt you, Yuushi," Omi insisted, "but I will if you force it."

There was no response from the man, as he adjusted his stance. To the left of Manx, the shortest of the four pulled out what appeared to be smoke bombs. Just as things seemed to be about to get interesting, both Knight, and the smaller boy (_The kitten says his name is Pawn – Oh, no that's his codename. His name is Naru… Wait, what do I care what his real name is? Kitten! Stop talking nonsense!_) collapsed, a single smoke bomb made enough contact with the ground to start hissing out a cloud, choking many of the scientists in the room, and giving me the perfect opportunity to pin them to walls.

Immediately, both Farfarello and Crawford reached for their weapons, but Omi merely removed his gloves, and tossed them aside as well. I glanced at him, and was shocked to see rage written all over his face.

"O… Omi?"

"I'm going to fry him," Omi stated, gritting his teeth. "For what he's done, I'll burn him alive. I swear it."

I reached forward, grabbing his arm, and forcing him to stop progressing into the room. "Omi, take a deep breath, you aren't thinking clearing right now… this is anger talking… not you…"

"So for the first time in my life I'll act out of pure anger! Is that so wrong?!" Omi asked, turning to face me. He was so livid that I was forced to release his hand due to sparks of flame starting to flicker around them.

"Think about how you'll feel after, Omi… please, just stop to think."

Omi turned away, then, heading into the room. A ball of flame spouted quickly from his hand, hovering there for a moment. "Schuldig," Omi gave a silent demand, and Schuldig must have obeyed, because soon after, the fire-starter began a resolute march toward a specific man.

I dropped the man, to give him a fighting chance, but a ball of flame soon caught his leg, burning dangerously, before going out. The man screamed in agony. "Give me the cure for them all… or I'll roast you from the bottom up – and make sure you live through it."

The man said nothing, staring at his leg in silence. Omi growled, and soon, the other leg lit, and went out. Again, the man shrieked, but said nothing. This time, the flame made it almost near enough to the man's crotch, that he soon gave in, simply due to the heat burning away all the hair around his crotch.

"You want the c-cure? F-fine! If I tell you how to cure them… will you release me?"

"I'll see what I can arrange," Omi's voice was nearly as monotonous as his team-mates' were, causing me to shudder, though not visibly.

"There's an antidote… in the cooler over there. There ought to be e-enough to cure them all," the scientist said, nursing his nearly useless legs.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Omi asked, approaching the cooler. "How do I know this will actually work?"

"Test it, you stupid brat," the scientist growled, but quickly looked away when Omi's hand snapped up a new flame.

Omi removed one of vials, and shuffled towards another of the scientists. Taking a needle, and carefully injecting the woman, he seemed surprised to find that she gained responsiveness nearly right away, though her first words were "Let me down!" in a high-pitched squeal, oh so reminiscent of Tanamuri, though those days seemed ever so far away.

Without further ado, Bombay began to prepare more needles, and soon we were all participating in the curing of Kritiker members. Of course, this was until Omi's attention was again caught by the perpetrator of all of this pain.

No second thought was given, before the man appeared to spontaneously combust. I'm relatively sure that all who were there were in shock – though Omi paid no mind, as he continued his curing.

After many strange conversations, and the clearing up of a lot of issues, which I didn't bother to stick my nose in, unlike certain other redheaded individuals, we began on our way home, with Omi carrying three needles in a specially designed case.

"It feels so good to think that… this is really all almost over," Omi murmured, resting his head against my shoulder. I stroked his hair with a small smile, though a wistful one, because though Omi felt that it was almost over, he hadn't yet realized that there was still so much left to happen.

* * *

_A/N: Look! Look guys! It's a sorta-not-a-cliff-hanger! Or… not a cliff-hanger at all, really. Aren't you happy? God this chapter is crap. I sent Riisha a bunch of text messages while writing to ask her about the Crashers, because for the life of me I couldn't remember who Aya had replaced… And found out that Masato was actually Rook, where I'd been thinking it was Bishop all this time… Good thing I knew Yuushi and Naru Xx Since those are really the only two that matter. (For reference, Bishop's real name is actually Reiichi… just in case you were curious.)_

_Next chapter should be the final chapter… if you're lucky there may be an epilogue, but don't keep your fingers crossed, I have _way_ too many other stories I have to get back to and finish._


	13. Chapter 13

It was strange to see my family grow together. I insisted that they remain under watch for a while before we could be sure they were fully cured, and during that time I found a sense of humour in the members of Schwarz that I thought I'd never see. Yohji-kun's first priority was to shave, and get cleaned up, unlike Aya-kun, who hissed and spitted in a very catlike manner at any member of Schwarz to approach him – this was especially true of Schu.

Ken-kun and I had a lot of catching up to do, and I got the vague impression that Nagi was a little jealous when Ken-kun and I spent too long together. He hovered near-by a lot, at first, but the bumbling apologies that Ken-kun went through, with an utterly agonized look seemed to help him calm.

Yohji-kun's apology was somewhat more embarrassed; first of all, he seemed utterly freaked out that he'd done anything, and the way he explained his apologies made me laugh once or twice, despite the severity of the situation. Secondly he was absolutely mortified that he'd done something with me because I was male – which made me giggle further.

Aya-kun's apology was the quickest, and least eventful. He simply apologized, and we both left it at that. He was pretty obviously ashamed, in a stoic, Aya-kun sort of way. But these three men were my family, and what they did wasn't of their own will, which made it all that much easier to accept each apology.

Four people? No… All seven of these men had made a strange way into my heart, as family. Of course, Schuldig refused to let me think about it that way – incest, he insisted, wasn't his thing.

Interestingly, Ken-kun and Farf managed to make good friends, playing target practice with one another. Darts, soccer balls, anything to keep one another entertained. Yohji-kun was immediately back to his old habits, dating and drinking leisurely, sleeping in to all hours of the day.

The interesting pair to watch was Aya-kun and Schu. Nagi and I often spent time chatting about them over assignments, or after somewhat more interesting events.

Even during our Graduation Ceremony, both Nagi and I had an eye on them. Even as Schuldig's hand moved to lightly cover Aya-kun's; even as Aya-kun growled at him to get his 'bloody fucking hand off, and his stupid brain out'.

Aya-kun was in more denial than any person I'd ever met, but Schuldig appeared to be working down Aya-kun's rougher exterior. It was truly the most messed up family I had, but they were mine. I had managed to make something akin to a relationship with Crawford, as well, though Nagi warned me not to try too hard.

The quiet last dance of the ceremony had Nagi and I quietly thinking to ourselves, ignoring the low lighting, and the couples here and there who had moved from a proper dance to a barely-vertical tango of flesh and limbs.

It felt like the end to a chapter in my life, and the beginning of a new one, starting us off fresh. Life wasn't what it was; being alive suddenly meant so much more. It meant teaching Nagi the joys of music, and in turn being taught the strange art of living with an adaptation.

As terrified as I was to tell the others of my choice, I found myself pleasantly disappointed by their lack of negative response. Ken-kun was as enthusiastically interested as always, and Yohji-kun simply teased about 'heating things up' and such, much to my annoyance.

Nagi and I sat in our room, at the close of the school year, at the beginning of spring, where everything began anew, including out lives. Nagi sat reading, and I gazed out the window, listening quietly to the music with a small reminiscent smile.

_In a world far away, we may meet again, _

_But now hear the song at the dawn of the night..._

_Let's sing the Bard's song._

_Tomorrow will take us away; far from home, _

_No one will ever know our names,_

But the Bard's songs will remain

_Tomorrow will take it away; the fear of today,_

_It will be gone._

_+Story inspired by: The Bard's Song – Blind Guardian_

**_OWARI _**

_  
A/N: …I refuse to accept any trash thrown in my direction at the lame-o last chapter. Apples and all food items will be accepted. With the way I ended up ending this chapter, I can guarantee that there will be no epilogue – this is almost an epilogue of its own._

_If you have any questions, you're always welcome to ask. This lovely new-ish feature that allows me to respond to your comments is something I'll take full advantage of for those who do have questions._

_I would like to personally thank each and every one of you who stuck with Shadow Eyes from the beginning, but since I'm sure there are a few readers who've been here all along, and simply haven't reviewed, or haven't reviewed in a while… I can't identify who's been with me this whole time, and who hasn't, so to you, cheers! And thank you. I hope I didn't disappoint too much._

_(And yes, because I know someone was –thinking- about stating this fact, I know it's short. I copped out and did a very non-descriptive, lazy, half-assed last chapter. –sob- That's what you get for no reviews. -sniff-)_


	14. Cerulean Sins Preview

**Gasp! What's this? Chapter fourteen of Shadow Eyes?**

No, sorry to disappoint you all, I do hate to lead you on. Perhaps I can make it up to you with… a sequel? For those interested, here's a preview of my idea for a sequel. If you're interested, leave a review – I need at least eight reviews to proceed with a whole story…  


Cerulean Sins 

A storm was brewing in the Schwarz estate – a firestorm, as it were. And Firestorm himself was _very_ intent on lighting anyone around aflame.

"Mein Gott! Keep your kitten under control, Nagi!" Schuldig yelled both verbally and mentally over the sound of smoke alarms going off. Seven men stood, absolutely drenched in a hallway, as an annoyed Firestorm incinerated a wall.

"And what am I supposed to do," Nagi asked, with a growl, "ask him to play nice? I've tried to stop him, it looks like the water is stopping him better than I am!"

Crawford rubbed his temples, absently, and Yohji muttered in the back about beauty sleep and Q-tip hair. Ken lead a rather well bound Farfarello down the hall on a leash, looking worried.

"What set him off?" the ex-goalie asked, glancing at the group.

"Consider it somewhat of a… power-PMS," Schuldig stated. Yohji groaned. "It happens once every six months, usually… depending on the power, it's not so much of a problem… it increases your potential, but it can make you extremely cranky," he explained. "In Crawfish's case, he sees things more in-depth, more detail… In Nagi's case he blows something up, and then shuts himself down, tending to blow himself out, power wise. For me, I get agonizing headaches, I hear everyone, no matter how I try to block them out…"

Ken tugged a bit at Farfarello's collar. "And you?" Farf just gave him a wickedly cat-like grin. Ken rolled his eyes, "ah."

Soon, the alarms shut themselves off, and Firestorm collapsed to his knees and groaned. "Nagi," he whimpered, "my hands are blistering!"

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Learning to deal with Omi's new power, Kritiker's slow dissipation, and an unexpected enemy lead new allies to find in themselves, and one another, an interesting string of abilities.

Interested?

Just say so.


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